


Last One Out of Sphynxia

by misslivvie



Category: KISS (US Band), Skid Row (US Band), Slaughter (US Band), Vinnie Vincent Invasion (US Band)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bomani is smitten and trying his best, Brotherly Bonding, Crush at First Sight, Dalila tries to be the Voice of Reason and fails, Eventual Romance, Family Bonding, Friendship, KISSteriaverse Modern AU, M/M, Male Friendship, Masika hasn't had this much fun in ages, Personal Growth, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, also known as what the wonderful warrior troupe does when Vinneketh's not around, based on a Steven Universe episode, that i invented a while back, this is an AU of Chronicles of KISSteria basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:02:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28519077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misslivvie/pseuds/misslivvie
Summary: As a part of his effort to be a better person, Bomani agrees, along with Dalila, to go with Masika to a garage band show after Radames cancels on him, while Vinneketh has Date Night with Demon. While picking up snacks at the store, a Mystery Guy walks in... and Bomani is smitten. Craziness ensues.
Relationships: Bobby Rock & Mark Slaughter & Dana Strum, Sebastian Bach/Bobby Rock
Kudos: 4





	Last One Out of Sphynxia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShandiStrutter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShandiStrutter/gifts).



> So this is literally an AU of an AU lol. AU-CEPTION!! It's also the first full-length story I'll post for 2021, so yay!! Here's hoping this year will be better than the last one. Please... 
> 
> But I hope you guys like this! It's based on ShandiStrutter's KISSteriaverse, but a modern AU setting. I'm also officially dedicating this to Shandi because girl, you are always down to hear my random-ass ideas and you're the best friend a girl could ever ask for. Love you, girl!! 
> 
> Enjoy the story!

Listen, Bomani was trying to be a better person; he really, truly was trying. He realized now that his… he hesitated to call it a “crush” now, because looking back it seemed more like an obsession, but maybe he should stick with crush… his crush (aka obsession) with Vinneketh had resulted in nothing but pain for everyone that got involved in it, even Bomani himself. Looking back on everything, it was really Black Dahlia’s more nonviolent intervention that made him realize how horrible he had become. More importantly, it made him realize he needed to change, and moving forward, he eventually realized he wanted to be better.

His resolution (which he was really trying to stick to) was also making him realize just how lucky he was to have friends like his. Because not only did they all forgive him and his assholery (even Vinneketh), but they all supported his work to be a better person. Their support made it so much easier, and he felt like he had to repay them somehow. So he tried to kick his habit of practically living at Radames’s dojo-gym, and instead tried to spend more time with his friends. Well, really it was mostly Dalila and Masika—he’d decided to give Vinneketh some space (and not because he was a coward, shut up).

So yeah, Bomani was trying. He was really, seriously, honest-to-God trying. But so far it didn’t seem like he was making much progress—well, enough progress for him to be proud of, anyway. He was at the point where he no longer felt pangs of jealousy when he saw the dreamily smitten look Vinneketh got at just the thought of Demon, so at least he had that going for him. But other than that, he still felt like he was going incredibly slowly down the road of growth.

Which brought him to the present. It was a Friday night, and all four of them were in the loft they shared, preparing for whatever plans they had. Vinneketh was in his room getting ready for a date with Demon, while Bomani and Dalila were sitting on the couch, beginning work on a 500-piece puzzle. Dalila had actually invited Bomani to join him, knowing he had no plans and had as a rule struck going to the gym off his backup plan list. And Masika… Well, actually, Bomani wasn’t sure what Masika had planned. But whatever it was, it was making him incredibly excited. The younger man was on his knees the other end of the couch, jumping up and down with an eager look on his face. Dalila and Bomani mostly ignored him, but when they started hearing squeaking they looked up.

“Masika,” Dalila said to him, “you’re going to break the couch if you keep jumping like that.”

Masika stopped and sat down, but made a face at Dalila. “Ah, don’t be such a buzzkill, man,”

“I’m not a buzzkill,” Dalila retorted. “I’m a person who still has college loans to pay off and doesn’t want to spend money on a new couch.”

“We could just make Masika pay for a new couch if he breaks it,” Bomani suggested. “’You break it, you bought it’ and all that.”

“I wasn’t even going to break the couch!” Masika protested. When they both gave him dry looks, he scoffed and waved them off. “Whatever. I’m in too good a mood to be bothered by you two.”

“Are you going somewhere?” Bomani asked him.

Masika immediately perked up again, grinning broadly. “Hell yeah! Radames is taking me to a show!”

“Oh good, you could use a little culture,” Dalila sassed, without looking up from the puzzle. “What is it, _Romeo and Juliet_?”

Bomani snickered. Masika looked incredibly offended. “Dude, no. It’s a rock show! And _Romeo and Juliet’s_ overrated anyway; I’d rather go see _Much Ado About Nothing_ and watch Beatrice throw her shade.”

Bomani perked up a bit at his answer; their love of rock music was pretty much the bedrock on which the fours’ friendship was founded. “A rock show, huh?”

Masika nodded vigorously. “Yeah! And it’s a garage band show! It’s gonna be a band, in a garage, at a house, with a whole bunch of people hangin’ out and _doing stuff_! It’s gonna be awesome!” 

The door to Vinneketh’s room opened, and he walked out, dressed in mostly black and gold. “Okay, how does this look?” he asked them, spreading his hands out to show them his outfit.

Dalila smiled and nodded, while Bomani stuck with a thumbs-up. Masika grinned and also gave him a thumbs-up. “Looks great! I mean, I still don’t see why it matters—it’s not like you’ll be wearing it for very long anyways once Demon sees it.”

“Masika!” Dalila scolded, even though he was smiling—hey, even he couldn’t deny the truth of that statement. Bomani covered his mouth to hide his snorting, while Vinneketh flushed pink and whacked Masika upside the head as he passed the couch.

He was about to sit down at the island in the kitchen area when his phone pinged in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the screen, then smiled widely. “He’s here!” He grabbed his wallet off the counter and ran for the door. “Bye! I’ll see you when I get back!”

Masika pumped a fist in the air. “Woo, go get some, Vinneketh!”

Vinneketh laughed and waved before opening the door and leaving. He hadn’t even been gone for ten seconds when the door opened again and Radames entered, knocking on the door. Masika perked up and jumped to kneeling on the couch again. “Radames!”

“I almost ran into Vinneketh on my way up here,” Radames remarked as he shut the door behind him. “He shouted hi before running past me. What has him in such a rush?”

Masika shrugged. “Eh, the usual. Date with Demon, round of sex that’ll probably leave him sore in the morning—y’know, the drill.” He grinned at Radames excitedly and hurtled over the back of the couch to stand. “C’mon! Let’s go so we don’t miss anything!”

But the older man had to stop him, looking very regretful. “I’m sorry, Masika… but I’m afraid we can’t go to the garage show.”

Bomani was sure he’d never seen Masika look that shocked, or that crushed. “What? Why?”

“I’m very sorry, Masika, but it completely slipped my mind that Red Lotus invited me and Mr. Beach over for cards.”

The look on Masika’s face made Bomani think it would be perfect for a cheesy teen movie, in the scene where the teen girl protagonist realized her boyfriend was breaking up with her. “Cards? Seriously? Can’t you tell her about the garage show?”

“I tried, believe me, but Red Lotus threatened to hold my mail if I didn’t show up.” Radames suddenly looked up and to the side solemnly. “And she’s not a woman of empty threats…”

Bomani and Dalila had to give a conceding nod at that. They may have all had black belts, but that didn’t mean they didn’t think Red Lotus was the scariest fucking woman they’d ever met. And even Masika, who still looked crushed, had to sigh in concession. “Fine… I guess I can go by myself…”

Radames patted his shoulder mournfully. “Again, I’m sorry I can’t go with you. But I’m sure it’ll be fun without me. I can send you the address of the house if you like.”

“Yeah, okay…” 

Radames left shortly after that. Masika trudged back over to the couch and flopped down beside Dalila, crossing his arms and sulking. “Man, this _sucks_ ,”

“I thought you said you would go by yourself,” Dalila reminded him.

“C’mon, man, you know how Radames gets when he feels guilty. I just said that so he’d stop feeling bad about ditching me. I can’t go by myself—half the fun’s going with other people.”

Bomani suddenly had an idea. “We could go with you,”

Dalila and Masika turned their heads to stare at him in surprise. “Really?” Masika asked.

Dalila’s look of surprise changed to agreement, and he turned back to Masika. “Yeah, we could go with you! That’d be fun!”

“No offense, Dalila, but you thought spending a Friday night doing a 500-piece puzzle would be fun,” Masika replied. “Have you guys ever been to a garage show?”

Bomani shrugged. “No, but I’ve always wanted to go to one,”

“And I can too have fun,” Dalila added. “I’m loads of fun. I just decided to do a puzzle because I didn’t have any—ooh, a sky piece!”

As Dalila excitedly went to snap the piece into place, Masika rolled his eyes and looked at Bomani, gesturing to the blond. “I rest my case,”

Dalila flipped him off, making him and Bomani laugh. Masika turned back to Bomani and sobered up a bit. “You sure you want to go, Bomani? I know you’re trying to get out more, but if you’re just going so I won’t be by myself…”

“It’s fine,” Bomani insisted, shaking his head. “I want to go. Like you said, half the fun’s going with friends.”

Masika stared at him for a second, then grinned at him, some of his excitement returning. “All right. Get your jackets, guys, and let’s rock and roll!” He jumped up off the couch and ran to his bedroom, pumping his fist in the air. “We’re gonna throw down in the pit! Woo!”

* * *

Since the neighborhood where the garage show was taking place was a bit of a drive away, they decided (aka Dalila insisted) they would stop to get snacks for the road. So they piled into Bomani’s Ford and drove to the nearby 7/11 to get some snacks. They all attracted a couple stares upon walking in, given their black leather jackets and their long hair that would have fit better in the 80s. 

Masika immediately ran for the candy, making Dalila roll his eyes, though he decided not to lecture Masika about acting like a child. Instead he and Bomani went over to the drinks and looked at the selections. “Do we want energy drinks, or beer?” Dalila asked. From the way he was talking, Bomani got the impression he wanted him to say energy drinks. And normally he would. But for some reason, Bomani was feeling rebellious; so wordlessly, he opened the refrigerator, took out a Bud Lite, and popped the tab.

Dalila gaped at him in shock, while Masika, who had come back with some packages of candy, looked on in surprise. “Wow, Bomani!” he remarked. “Not even gonna pay for it first, damn…”

Dalila huffed. “Fine, suit yourself,”

“Can I get a beer too?” Masika asked him.

“No,”

“Too bad, I’m getting one anyway.” Ignoring Dalila’s spluttering, Masika opened the refrigerator and took out a four-pack of Corona Lights.

Dalila shook his head with a disapproving look. “You two… I’m going to have to be the one to drive us home, aren’t I?”

“Probably!” Masika replied cheerfully, while Bomani smiled behind him.

Dalila sighed heavily. “Fine. So who’s the band performing at the show?”

At the mention of the show, Masika grinned excitedly again. “It’s Mike Kroll! He’s got a cool 90s garage band vibe about, like, being nostalgic for the suburbs and stuff!”

“Nostalgic for the suburbs?” Bomani repeated, not even realizing what he was saying. “They’ve only existed for what, seventy years?”

Then he realized what he said, and wanted to faceplant into the Earth’s core. Luckily, Masika laughed, which eased his anxiety somewhat. “Man, I am loving this new side of you, man! Who are you, and what have you done with Bomani Roboros?”

Bomani laughed. “Yeah, I’m pretty cool.” He took another drink. “I’m Powerline level cool.”

Masika snorted. “Whoa, man, no one’s as cool as Powerline. But that reminds me; when we get there, we can either just slip in and hang out, or we walk in like we fuckin’ own the place.”

As he was speaking, the doors opened and the bell dinged, and right as he said the part about walking in like they owned the place, Bomani turned his head to see who had entered… and nearly choked on his beer.

The person who had just entered the 7/11 was a man about their age that wore a black leather jacket, a Skid Row t-shirt underneath, and blue white washed jeans and combat boots. But holy shit he looked… the only word Bomani could think of was _gorgeous_ —he had long blond hair that obscured the right side of his face and just added to the overall gorgeousness, piercing eyes that probably could have looked right into his goddamn soul, and… oh God, his lips. His lips were full and pink and probably the closest thing he had ever seen to perfect lips. And to top it all off, he had flawless skin. It was fair, a little on the tan side, but _fuck_ was it flawless. He looked so badass and mysterious and… and so fucking hot.

The mystery guy walked past them to the coffee, and Bomani’s wide eyes followed him the entire way. Masika pointed at him. “Like that guy! Perfect example!”

Some of the Bud Lite suddenly dribbled out of Bomani’s mouth, and he jerked, came back to reality, and turned furiously red as he wiped his chin with his jacket sleeve. His action made Dalila and Masika turn to him in confusion. “Are you okay, Bomani?” Dalila asked.

“U-Uh… I-I… I didn’t know people still liked Skid Row…”

Masika sniggered. “Yeah, that’s what you were staring at,”

“I-I was!” Bomani stammered, flushing an embarrassing amount. “Does he… Does he even know who they are?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Dalila suggested.

Bomani could think of many reasons why he should definitely not go over and talk to this gorgeous mystery guy, but then Masika nodded his head vigorously. “Yeah, do it!” He began to pump his fist and chant. “Do it! Do it! Do it!” 

Not wanting the mystery guy to look over at them, Bomani quickly shushed him. “Okay, fine, I’ll do it, just stop!” He nervously handed his Bud Lite to Dalila, then blew out a breath, shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, and headed over to the coffee machine, his heart pounding the entire way. The Mystery Guy had poured himself a cup of coffee and was stirring it with a wooden stirrer by the time he made his way over. When he standing right beside him, he tried to casually pick up a cup from the stack between them, but his hands were shaking so badly that he instead knocked them all over; then when he tried to pick them up, he swung his hands out a little too far and nearly hit Mystery Guy, who had taken a step back in surprise.

Bomani steadied the cup stack, then looked up at Mystery Guy—oh shit, he was even more gorgeous up close. He gave him a wide, incredibly nervous smile. “Iiiiii…”

Sadly, Mystery Guy looked mildly weirded out. He stepped back, then turned and went to pay for his coffee at the register. Bomani sadly watched him go.

Behind him, Dalila winced at how badly it had gone, while Masika was actually rather amused. The normally cool and calm Bomani Roboros was reduced to a stuttering, awkward mess by this hot Mystery Guy. “Woooowww,” he said loudly, grinning widely. “Wowowow!”

Bomani turned and glared at him, his face completely red. “Shut up, Masika,”

Masika, frustratingly, didn’t stop grinning at Bomani as the trio got back into the car. “Well, ya certainly showed the cups who’s boss,”

“Shut up,” Bomani muttered, feeling his face grow hot. “I just got caught off guard.”

In keeping true to his personality, the grin stayed on Masika’s face. “Sure, man, whatever you say…”

“Shut up!” Bomani dug his keys out of his pocket. “You put in the directions, right?”

“Yep,”

“Great. Now let’s go have the night of our lives!”

He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, then the car started off down the road. For a while, the three men sat in relative silence, the only sounds being the occasional crinkle of snack packages and the rock music playing loudly over the radio. Bomani kept his eyes on the road, occasionally glancing down at the GPS screen to make sure he was still going the right way; Dalila sat quietly in the backseat, chewing on Sour Punch candy; and Masika silently jammed along to the radio, air-drumming and nodding his head.

The silence was relatively comfortable… but as time passed, Bomani slowly began to feel like it was getting awkward. Like, very awkward. Dalila seemed to feel that as well, since right as Bomani began to think of something to say, the blond man leaned forward. “Okay, if no one’s gonna say it, I will: he kind of looked like Vinneketh. You noticed, I noticed, we all noticed.”

Bomani’s grip tightened on the steering wheel and his face went hot again. Masika turned to look at Dalila while he spoke. “Oh…” Then it seemed to click in his mind. “Oh!” He grinned widely at Bomani. “That’s why you were acting like such a goon!”

“It is not!” Bomani insisted, though to whom he wasn’t sure. “That’s in the past; I’m done with that. Tonight, I’m all about the future. I’m a new person who likes socializing instead of spending all his time at the dojo.”

Once again, though, he wasn’t entirely sure on who he was talking to.

Masika crossed his arms and gave him a look of amused skepticism. “That’s what that was?”

“I—shut up! You weren’t over by the cups. I could’ve talked to him. The timing was just wrong.”

Thankfully, his friend decided to let him off the hook and didn’t tease him anymore. But he still couldn’t help but think about what Dalila had said, and think back to how Mystery Guy had looked. At a stretch, he supposed he did kind of look like Vinneketh, but even then not much… but what did that mean? He was over Vinneketh—well, he was trying to get over him—

“Guys! It’s him! He’s riding right next to us!”

Bomani’s train of thought screeched to a halt at Dalila’s exclamation. He and Masika turned to the left and looked out the window. There, riding next to them on a motorcycle, was none other than Mystery Guy. He had a helmet on, but there was no way Bomani would ever forget that hair.

“Aw, no way!” Masika exclaimed.

Dalila leaned over and tapped Bomani’s shoulder. “You’ve got another chance!” he said excitedly.

So this was what “butterflies in your stomach” felt like. “What do I do?” Bomani asked nervously. Should he flash his lights? Should he honk at him?

“Shoot him a look!” suggested Masika. Bomani started to turn his head. “Wait, not yet. Okay, you can look… now!”

Bomani turned his head. Mystery Guy was looking over at their car, and their eyes met. Then Mystery Guy _smiled_ at him… _holy shit holy shit holy shit_ that was a pretty smile.

Then several things happened in quick succession: Mystery Guy revved his motorcycle’s engine and sped past them; the light they were approaching turned yellow; Bomani slowed down; the motorcycle sped through the yellow light; the light turned red; and Bomani was forced to bring the car to a complete stop, and watch dejectedly as Mystery Guy sped down the road out of sight.

“Oooo,” Masika said sadly. “There he goes.” He glanced at Bomani. “I’m sorry, man.”

Bomani didn’t reply, just stared sadly up at the red light. Dalila leaned forward. “Don’t worry,” he said optimistically. “Maybe he’s going to the same show as us?”

“Maybe,” Masika replied skeptically. “But I dunno. He may not even be going to the show. Maybe he just lives nearby.”

His words almost went unheard as Bomani kept staring sadly up at the red light. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to see Mystery Guy again. Maybe he lost his chance when he choked in the 7/11.

But Masika’s words were heard, and suddenly, a wild, crazy, and definitely not legal idea popped into his head.

Bomani’s face hardened. Then, as the opening guitar and drums of “Kickstart My Heart” came over the speakers, he took his foot off the brake… and slammed on the gas.

The car tires squealed against the asphalt, then the car shot down the road right through the red light as the song launched into the intro.

The unexpected burst of speed threw Masika and Dalila back against their seats. “BOMANI!” Dalila screeched.

Masika looked dumbfounded. “Waat the…!” Then a wide grin drifted onto his face, and he began to laugh in surprise and excitement. “Hell yeah, Bomani!”

“Bomani, what the hell?!” Dalila shouted from the backseat, an edge of hysteria in his voice. “The light was red!”

Bomani felt the corner of his mouth quirk up in a smirk. “I know,”

They continued to speed down the road, well above the speed limit, as “Kickstart My Heart” blared over the speakers. Adrenaline ran through Bomani’s system, and he never once even thought about slowing down—he had never done before what he was doing right now. That was more of something Masika would do. And yet here they were, running a red light, speeding down the road twenty miles above the speed limit, chasing after a mysterious guy, and it was Bomani behind the wheel. It felt amazing.

All too soon, in the distance they saw a speck appear ahead of them. Masika pointed at Mystery Guy excitedly. “There he is!”

“What’s your plan?” Dalila asked, still sounding a bit shocked.

“I don’t have one,” And for once, he didn’t care.

“What?!”

“New Bomani. No plan.”

Masika’s grin couldn’t have gotten any wider, and yet somehow it did. Dalila slumped back in his seat, groaning, “No kidding…”

Suddenly, the darkness of the car was lit up by flashing red and blue lights, and they all tensed when they heard the wail of a police siren behind them. The grin dropped right off Masika’s face. “Oh shit,”

Dalila twisted around to look out the rear window, then turned back in panic. “It’s the cops!”

Bomani looked in the rearview mirror—sure enough, driving behind them was a police car, lights flashing and siren wailing. Masika’s eyes widened. “Oh shit!”

All the adrenaline and elation running through Bomani disappeared, and he gripped the steering wheel with whitening knuckles as panic set in instead. _What the fuck was I thinking?!_ “What do I do?!” he asked fearfully.

“Slow down, pull over, and show them your license!” Dalila replied, and from the sound of it he was probably begging him in his mind to please do that.

But another jolt of fear went through Bomani as he realized a very important little problem. “I, uh… don’t have my license?”

Masika began to laugh nervously, gripping the car door and the side of the passenger. “Eh heh heh… oh man…”

Dalila gaped at him for a second, his look almost cartoonish if not for the situation, then screeched, “YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR LICENSE?!”

“It’s in my wallet!”

“Where’s your wallet?!”

“I forgot it at home!”

“Then what do we do?!”

“Gun it!” Masika suddenly exclaimed.

Dalila whipped his head around to him in shock. “We can’t do that!”

“Why not? They’re already chasing after us!”

Bomani bit his lip worriedly as his panic rose. He couldn’t stop; without his license, they’d be arrested for sure. There seemed to be only one option he could take. It was crazy, stupid, and they could possibly crash… but it wasn’t like he had any better ideas.

“They’ll just speed up and keep chasing us if we do that!”

“You got any better i—WHOA!”

Bomani floored it, pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor, and the car shot forward. Dalila and Masika were catapulted back into their seats again, and almost immediately Masika began to laugh elatedly once more. “All right, Muscles!” he crowed.

“Bomani, you can’t just drive away!” Dalila shrieked. “This is serious!”

His eyes were on the road, so he didn’t see Masika’s look of admiration, but he heard it in his voice. “Bomani, dude! You’re a total bad—”

Bomani had jerked the steering wheel as they went into a turn, cutting him off. He wanted to say something you might hear in an action movie, probably about how this is why you buckled up, but instead he turned up the volume on the radio and shouted, “Hang on!”

“Kickstart My Heart” blared over the speakers as the car swerved through the turns and went over a small hill, incidentally passing Mystery Guy’s motorcycle as they went, and slowly getting farther and farther away from the police car. Masika threw his hands up in the air like he was on a roller coaster ride, cheering in adrenaline-fueled excitement, while Dalila cowered in the backseat mumbling “Oh boy…” anxiously.

Finally, Bomani caught sight of a large billboard sign up ahead, and got an idea. He took his foot off the gas and put on the brakes, jerking the steering wheel. The car went off the road and behind the road sign, and when he was sure it was out of view Bomani killed the engine and turned off the headlights. He lowered his head out of view, waving for Masika and Dalila to do the same. “Shh…”

They heard the siren as the police car sped past them, then it slowly faded away out of earshot.

Once the siren had faded away, Masika lifted his head. “Are they gone?”

Bomani nodded. “They’re gone,”

The three of them sat back, all heaving sighs of relief. Bomani still couldn’t quite believe what he’d just done… and had gotten away with. A smile of elation crept across his lips.

Neither could Masika believe it, it seemed, because he slowly smiled and began to laugh breathlessly. “That… was insane. Like, totally fucking insane.”

“I cannot believe you just did that, Bomani,” Dalila said from the backseat, still sounding incredibly shocked. “We could’ve gotten arrested! We could’ve crashed!”

“I know!” Masika said delightedly, turning to look at the blond. “Admit it: that was awesome!”

Bomani turned around as well. Dalila was still for a moment, still looking shocked. Then Bomani saw a hesitant smile inch its way onto Dalila’s face. “Fine… I guess it was kind of awesome…”

Masika grinned. “It was totally awesome!”

Dalila gave a huff of laughter and shook his head fondly at him. His laugh made Bomani start laughing, and Masika followed as they both turned back around and sat back. And for a moment, all three of them just sat there in the car, laughing.

Eventually, Bomani remembered they still had a garage band show to get to, and reached for his keys and turned them in the ignition. The engine spluttered, but didn’t rev up. They all fell silent and stared at Bomani as he turned the key again. The engine spluttered again, then died.

“Now what?” Masika asked.

Internally pleading for it to not be what he thought it was, Bomani looked at the fuel gauge on the dashboard. And just as he feared, the gauge needle was pointed at the E. He slumped in shock and disappointment. “We’re out of gas,”

Masika summed it up best by throwing his hands up in frustration. “Aw, come on!”

Dalila quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a gas station.” He typed for a moment then waited for the results to load. “Here we go! The nearest gas station is… twenty-three miles away.”

They all groaned, and Bomani face-planted into the steering wheel.

* * *

Since the car was out of commission, the trio was forced to walk the rest of the way, hoping that once they got to the garage show they could ask someone for help. So they pulled out the black car cover from the trunk so no one would steal it, locked the doors, then set off walking down the side of the road. Houses began to come into view, which Masika said meant they were almost there. He and Dalila walked up ahead, while Bomani trailed along behind, hands in his pockets and head bent towards the ground.

He still couldn’t believe what was happening. He’d driven to loud music, speeding at least thirty miles above the speed limit, could have crashed, and almost got pulled over by the police, all because he wanted to have even a glimmer of a chance with a Mystery Guy he saw in a 7/11. And now they were probably lost, and if they couldn’t call a tow truck or get gas for the car, they would be totally stranded and forced to call Vinneketh. Bomani didn’t even want to think about the earful they’d get from him.

Vinneketh. The thought of him just made Bomani feel worse. He was trying to move on and be a better person—he was trying harder than he probably ever had in his life. And even though there had been many, many times where he ashamedly thought about giving up, he ignored that part of himself and pushed through it. But he didn’t feel like he had gained any progress tonight—a part of him even felt like he had regressed. Dalila and Masika, although they supported him, probably wouldn’t have much faith in him after this. They probably hated him.

Bomani sighed heavily and ran his hands through his hair. “I should’ve stayed home,” he muttered.

Hearing him, Dalila and Masika stopped and turned around. “What?” Dalila asked.

Bomani stopped walking and repeated. “I should’ve stayed home,”

“Why?” Masika asked in confusion.

“Because… Because then none of…” he gestured wildly “this, would’ve happened! I just—I was so ready to be a new person!” He started pacing around, running his hands through his hair as he rambled on. “I was going to drink beer, and rock out to garage band music, and hang out and do stuff, and you’d all go, ‘Wow, Bomani’s really cool!’ And for just one lousy night, I could feel like I’m actually doing better and I’m still not a shitty friend. But noooo… instead we drove to loud music, chased some Mystery Guy into the night and broke the law. And I don’t even look cool! Look at this!” He opened his jacket so his friends could see the DuckTales t-shirt he was wearing. “I’m wearing a DuckTales t-shirt. _DuckTales_!” Not wanting to stand anymore, he sank to the ground and hung his head. “I’m sorry, guys… I should’ve stayed home with the puzzle…”

There was a long stretch of silence. Dalila and Masika looked at each other, then turned back to him. “Dude…” Masika began, and Bomani worried he would say he was right. But then… “Do you hear yourself? Who cares about DuckTales—you’re a total badass! You gunned it from the cops, dude!”

Bomani looked up at them in shock. Masika was grinning at him, while Dalila was smiling. “He’s right,” Dalila said. “Who cares about your DuckTales t-shirt? You just drove forty miles over the speed limit, outran the police, and you didn’t crash the car once! That was amazing! I mean, it was totally illegal and you gave me a heart attack, but it was amazing!”

All Bomani could do was gaze at them dumbly. “… Seriously?”

They both nodded. “Seriously,” Dalila replied. “And listen…” they went over and sat down beside him. “You are doing better. I know maybe to you it doesn’t seem that way, but you are. You’re really trying, and we’re proud of you.”

Masika nodded in agreement. “Yeah. And we’re here for you, man. We’ll support you the entire way, and Vin will too, and if anyone tries to mess with your progress, we’ll gladly fight them for ya. ‘Cause we’re your friends.”

Bomani gazed at them both, not knowing what to say. But maybe… maybe they were right. Maybe he was making progress. And maybe he didn’t need to give up. But he did know, knew it with absolute certainty, that they were right about their support.

He slowly smiled at them. “Thank you… You guys are the best.”

Masika grinned. “Yeah, we know. Group hug!”

They hugged, then stood up and continued walking. But they ended up not having to walk for very much longer, as they soon entered a neighborhood from the back and began to hear the sound of rock music. They followed the music, and finally came to a house at the end of the block. Crowds of people were gathered in the driveway and front yard and the garage door was open, showing off flashing lights and the band playing inside. 

They all grinned. “Is this the place, Masika?” Dalila asked.

“It’s the place! I can’t believe it! We must have been pretty close by!”

Dalila nudged Bomani’s shoulder, smiling. “See? It all worked out, didn’t it?”

“I guess it did…” They still had to get help with the car, though. But he figured they could worry about that later.

As the trio approached the house, Masika’s eyes widened and he tapped Bomani’s shoulder. “Look!”

Bomani looked, and his heart nearly stopped. Standing there in the front yard was none other than Mystery Guy, looking down at his phone.

Dalila’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe it… He’s actually here!”

For a moment, Bomani just stared silently at Mystery Guy. This had to be divine intervention. He’d choked in the 7/11, but he’d successfully shot him a look on the road, so maybe that meant he now had another chance.

Bomani curled his hands into fists, and blew out a deep breath. “I’m going to go talk to him,”

Dalila and Masika gave him looks of surprise. “Really?” Dalila asked him.

For the first time that night, Masika gave him an almost worried look. “Bomani, listen—I know this is what you want to do, but… you can ease into socializing if you want.”

Bomani thought over his words, then looked back at Mystery Guy. And his decision was made. If he didn’t go for it now, he may never get another chance.

He turned back to his friends, smiling confidently. “I’ll be right back,”

Then he rolled his shoulders back and strode towards Mystery Guy with confidence in his step. Both his friends watched him proudly. Their pride faded, however, when Bomani went up to Mystery Guy and stuck out his hand. Masika face-palmed. “Oh jeez, he’s starting with a handshake?”

Then Mystery Guy, after a moment where he looked Bomani up and down, smiled back at him and took his hand. “Oh, he went for it,” Dalila observed.

Bomani started to talk, gesturing to Mystery Guy’s Skid Row t-shirt. Mystery Guy gave a reply, and they started talking back and forth, though Dalila and Masika were too far away to hear what they were saying. Mystery Guy laughed, then said something that made Bomani join in. Then after a moment of talking, Bomani pulled out his phone.

Masika grabbed Dalila’s elbow, eyes wide. “Dalila… is what I think is happening happening?” He sounded like he could hardly believe it.

“I don’t know,” Dalila answered, although he was hoping it was happening too. Then Mystery Guy put his phone in his pocket and waved to Bomani, then turned and walked off. Bomani waved to Mystery Guy and turned back around to them. “Oh, he’s coming back!”

They quickly ran over to him, meeting him on the edge of the lawn. “So… what happened?” Masika asked.

Bomani was looking down at his phone and smiling, and looked up at them. “I asked him if he listened to Skid Row, and he said yes, he did, and we talked about our favorite rock bands. I also said if I was a girl I’d totally throw my bra at Jon Bon Jovi, and he laughed and agreed with me.”

Masika looked like he was stuck between facepalming at what Bomani had said and being happy it went so well. Dalila just rolled his eyes. “And?” he asked.

Bomani looked down at his phone and smiled. “And… he gave me this.”

He showed him his phone screen. It was open to his contacts, and there was a phone number in blue numbers on the screen, with what had to be Mystery Guy’s name written above it.

Both Dalila and Masika gaped at the phone screen. Then a smile slowly emerged on Masika’s face. “Oh… no way…” The smile exploded into a wide grin, and he looked ecstatically at Bomani. “No freakin’ way!”

“That’s his phone number!” Dalila exclaimed. “Bomani, you got his phone number!”

In his excitement, Masika began jumping around with his hands on his head. “Bomani! You just talked to him about rock music and said some dumbass thing about your crush on Jon Bon Jovi, and got his number _like it was nothing_?! Oh my god!” He laughed happily. “Bomani, you’re a total rock star!”

Bomani looked down at Mystery Guy’s phone number again, then looked up and smiled wider. Maybe tonight hadn’t gone as smoothly as planned, but this? This was definitely a win. And for the first time since his resolution to be better, he finally felt like he was on the right path.


End file.
